• Brevis delivers on CSK debut

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    Dewald Brevis top-scored for the Chennai Super Kings in their five-wicket defeat to the Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday.

    Fast bowler Harshal Patel grabbed 4-28 and was ably assisted by captain Pat Cummins and Jaydev Unadkat – both finishing with identical figures of 2-21 – to dismiss the hosts for a below-par 154 in 19.5 overs.

    On his debut for the franchise, Brevis struck a blistering 25-ball 42, which included four sixes and a four.

    Skipper MS Dhoni failed to make his 400th T20 a memorable occasion, managing just six runs and coming out on the losing side.

    The Sunrisers achieved the target in 18.4 overs for the loss of five wickets with Ishan Kishan leading the way with a solid 34-ball 44 with five fours and a six.

    Mendis struck an unbeaten 32 off 22 balls, adding 49 in an unbroken sixth wicket stand with Nitish Kumar Reddy who finished with a 13-ball 19*.

    The victory lifted the Sunrisers to eighth on the 10-team table topped by the Gujrat Titans with 12 points in eight matches while five-time champions CSK are at the bottom with four points in nine.

    Patel, declared Man of the Match, attributed discipline as the key for his fine bowling.

    “I figured out pretty early that hitting it on a good length around the stumps was important because it was hard to hit with the horizontal bat,” he said.

    Dhoni blamed losing a cluster of wickets for the poor batting show.

    “I think we kept losing wickets and another thing is in the first innings the wicket was slightly better,” said Dhoni. “A total of 157 wasn’t a justifiable score.”

    Earlier, Chennai were rocked by Patel, who ripped through the middle and lower-order batting.

    The hosts started on a wrong note when opener Shaik Rasheed was caught in the slip off the very first delivery of the match by fast bowler Mohammad Shami.

    Seventeen-year-old Ayush Mhatre was impressive in his 19-ball 30, which was studded with six fours, while Ravindra Jadeja managed 21 with a six and a four.

    Jadeja’s dismissal brought Dhoni to the crease as the crowd roared to welcome their hero but his stay lasted for just 10 balls.

    It was Brevis who assured CSK got past 150 with some lusty hitting.

    Deepak Hooda also chipped in with a 21-ball 22 with a six and a four.

    © Agence France-Presse

    Photo: Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images

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    Simon Borchardt